PORUS, Manchester — A day after relatives of three men who were fatally shot by the police near here protested, Manchester’s commanding officer Superintendent Carey Duncan suggested that no angels died in the St Toolies incident. At the same time, residents praised the constabulary for keeping them safe.

“What I will say is that when police take certain actions it is usually in response to an action that is taken against them. So if an innocent person was there and was not a threat to the police yesterday (Monday) then certainly no harm would have come to them,” Duncan said during a community engagement session in St Toolies on Tuesday afternoon.

“We only respond to threats when they are meted out against us, so where the perpetrators are given clear instructions to lay down their weapons and surrender, and if they fail to do that and direct their firearms in our direction, then certainly we will respond with like force,” added Duncan.

The police chief made the comments during a walk-through of St Toolies to reassure residents as to the police’s presence.

The three men killed during the reported confrontation with the police were identified as 23-year-old Byron McDonald, 26-year-old Teshawn Porteous, and 19-year-old Rasheed Johnson. Police said a fourth man, who remains unidentified, ran from the house in St Toolies and tried to elude the police during an alleged gun battle.

The suspect reportedly confronted the police in the neighbouring area of Toll Gate. He was fatally shot, bringing the number of fatal shootings involving the security forces to 12 so far this year. Police said a firearm was seized in that alleged shoot-out.

Relatives of McDonald had said he recently moved from Cotterwood in St Elizabeth to St Toolies.

However, Duncan advised St Toolies residents to be wary of migrant criminals.

“St Toolies is very close-knit, family-oriented, and if we find that we have strangers coming into your community, I implore you to reach out and let us know, so that we can check them out,” he said.

“Not every stranger is a threat, but some strangers are threats, so it is very important that if you have the strangers in the community, let the information reach us and we do our due diligence to ensure that these are persons who can remain in the community,” added Duncan.

Residents chimed in and commended the police while noting the advice given.

“St Toolies is one of the best places in Jamaica, so as a community we will be better advised to be more selective as to the people who we really take on; the people who we accommodate. We will do a bit of screening to ensure that good quality people are here,” said a resident.

Another resident urged the police to maintain a presence in the community, particularly near the St Toolies River.

“We are happy to see the police’s presence in the community. We want the police to be here right through, especially to target those who come in here and bring wrongdoers even to the river,” a woman said.

In response to the residents’ appeal for continued police presence, Superintendent Duncan said he has tasked the Porus police with maintaining patrols in the community.

“What occurred here yesterday (Monday) was straight and strictly intelligence police operation. This had nothing to do with the community itself, but our own intel apparatus that stretched very far and wide across the length and breadth of Jamaica,” said Duncan.

“This is for the very same reasons we are here to reassure persons in St Toolies that we certainly will be here, so it is not a one-off thing that we are going to come here today and we are out tomorrow; it is a consistent thing that our units will be here, as my Porus police have been tasked that this area is [one] where they should remain focused to ensure that the persons here feel safe in their own space,” he added.

Councillor Claudia Morant Baker (Jamaica Labour Party, Porus Division) heaped praises on the Manchester police and commended their leadership.

“I am really happy that you took the time out to be here to [reassure] the residents that listened. You did not do anything wrong, but something wrong was done around you and the police department just came in and fixed it,” she told Superintendent Duncan.

“We just want to say thank you for your reassurance that we can go to our bed and sleep in peace knowing that we don’t have certain neighbours here… We must together keep the crime rate very low,” she added.

Duncan told residents that the police do not intend to impose a curfew in the community unless there is intelligence suggesting the likelihood of violence.

“A curfew is dependent on how well you behave, it is not our intention to impose a curfew in any space at all. We do not want to limit anybody’s movement. However, if we find that the challenge arises and people’s lives are being lost then certainly we have to put in measures to curtail these issues,” he said.

He also warned residents about the illegal use of motorcycles commonly called “bike taxis”.

“They are saying that the bike taxis are what generally assist the people to come [into the community], but what I am saying to them is, we can’t do that, it is illegal, and there is no way on earth we can put our stamp of approval [on something] that is illegal,” he said.

“It is very dangerous. I have had the displeasure of seeing people transporting two and three persons on motorcycles; nobody is wearing a helmet and that in itself is very dangerous. These vehicles will never be given the green light to transport passengers for hire… I would say to people to find much safer ways to traverse the [area]. Motor vehicles, public passenger vehicles, are the legal way to travel the space. We are going to discourage you from having your children travelling on them,” added Duncan.

Head of the Manchester police Superintendent Carey Duncan (left) listens as residents address him during a walk-through of St Toolies on Tuesday. At right is Councillor Claudia Morant-Baker (Jamaica Labour Party, Porus Division). (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Police at the scene of the triple fatal shooting in St Toolies on Monday.

A police unit assigned to the Area Fugitive Apprehension Team (AFAT) and personnel near the scene of a triple fatal shooting in St Toolies, Manchester on Tuesday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Police and political representatives on Tuesday look at the house in St Toolies, Manchester, where the triple fatal shooting occurred on Monday .